Do I want to work?

I seem to be on a break from purely financial topics for a time here to ponder some issues in a more personal way....

My life has been rather stressful in both work and personal ways over the past couple of years, and the work stress in particular serves to make me yearn ever more strongly for the day when I leave it all behind. But when I think of fully quitting, that doesn't make me happy either. There are certain parts of my work that I really like and provide me with fringe benefits including learning, socialization/teamwork, affirmation and more.

Right now I am at a point where almost everything that I am working on has been going on for 8 months or more. That means that the exciting new stuff is long gone and the "just get it done" phase is well under way. At times like this I really want out, but is retirement what I really want? When the projects are fresh and new, my outlook can be very different and work can be a lot of fun.

One of my friends has sold his business recently and is now planning to take some extended time off to pursue his main hobby. When I think of doing such a thing, I mainly imagine having too much time on my hands. And when I have time on my hands I shop. It doesn't take genius to know that not working and lots of boredom shopping is a bad combination.

So I believe that at this point in my life I still want to work, although perhaps much less than I currently am. All this work has been very good for my finances, but I believe that I have built up enough momentum that I don't need to kill myself. Now, hopefully things will slow down and allow me to test this theory. :)

Today's billable hours: 5.75
Today's contracted hours: 1.0